HK-based Hutchison China Meditech, or Chi-Med, has sold 7.5 million American Depositary shares at $13.50 apiece in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq, raising $101.25 million, missing the target, but still placing it in company with BeiGene ($BGNE) as the second China-focused biotech to list in the U.S. this year.
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Chi-Med CEO Christian Hogg
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Chi-Med originally set an issuance of 6.1 million ADS at $16.33 each. However, Chi-Med has also granted underwriters a 30-day option to buy an additional 1.125 million ADS, with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank Securities joint global coordinators and joint book runners for the offering and Stifel, Canaccord Genuity, Panmure Gordon & Co. and CITIC CLSA as co-managers.
It will trade on the Nasdaq starting March 17 under the symbol HCM with existing shares listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market also continuing to trade. The ADS represents one-half of one ordinary share of Chi-Med.
Chi-Med's pipeline includes an open-label Phase II clinical trial in thyroid cancer with candidate HMPL-012, sulfatinib, in China and other oncology efforts that include a U.S. Phase I clinical trial to treat neuroendocrine tumors.
Part of Li Ka-shing-controlled CK Hutchison Holdings, the company first announced plans to list on the Nasdaq last October.
The company is focused on oncology and immunological diseases with 7 clinical-stage drug candidates in its pipeline, 5 of which already achieved proof-of-concept that could see them become "eligible for accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration."
It owns 4 of the candidates and has partnerships on the others with AstraZeneca ($AZN), Eli Lilly ($LLY) and Nestle Health Science.
The rush of money to China pharma also sees Nanjing-based Simcere Pharmaceutical Group and Beijing-based China Resources Pharmaceutical Group each looking to raise as much as $1 billion on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
- here's the release from Chi-Med